October 2017

It's Here! Our Newly Redesigned Website

We are very pleased to announce the launch of our redesigned website! Features include a more expansive, modern look and feel, as well as an events calendar, gallery of grant recipients, and a search bar. Improvements to navigation provide a more user-friendly experience for desktop and mobile devices. We hope you will find everything you are looking for in just a few easy clicks and welcome your feedback via email.

We'd like to thank the Mattabeseck Audubon Society for inviting us and the Jonah Center for Earth & Art to co-present "An Evening with Henry David Thoreau" on September 28. It was a wonderful program by historian Richard Smith and a very appreciative audience of more than 60 attendees!

Reminder - applications for the 2017-2018 Competitive Grant Program are due by November 9!

Thank you to everyone who has supported the special campaign to commemorate 45 years of grant making so far!  Please take a moment to read more about the Fostering Future Stewards  initiative and consider joining us with your gift today!
In This Issue
Grantees in Action  

The Connecticut Forest & Park Association will be embarking on a timbering and invasive removal project in the Highlawn Forest as part of a strategic Forest Management Plan. The program will be a model for environmental planning and will offer a unique opportunity for hands-on environmental education for landowners and municipalities while providing for the use of the property as a recreation and education asset. The Rockfall Foundation is proud to support this important program!

(L to R) Eric Hammerling and Lindsay Suhr of CFPA with Robin Andreoli and Tony Marino of The Rockfall Foundation.

The Elements: An Environmental Film Series presents
FORGOTTEN FARMS

Monday, Oct. 2 @ 7 pm

"Forgotten Farms" examines class divides in our farm and food communities. Most people buy their food in supermarkets and don't have a chance to meet their farmer. But in more affluent communities, farm-to-table restaurants, farmer's markets and CSAs are booming and the new farmers are celebrated.

There is another farmer who is left out of the local food celebration.

New England has lost over 10,000 dairy farms in the past 50 years; fewer than 2,000 farms remain. Collectively, they tend 1.2 million acres of farmland and produce almost all of the milk consumed in New England. In our enthusiasm for the new food movement, we often overlook the farmers at the foundation of the regional agricultural economy. A truly sustainable local food system that benefits everyone will rely on all of our farmers.

This is a FREE event.

Wesleyan University Center for Film Studies
301 Washington Terrace, Middletown

Opportunities for Youth

The Rockfall Foundation is pleased to offer the  Virginia R. Rollefson Environmental Leadership Scholarship which recognizes outstanding contributions by a high school student residing in the Lower Connecticut River Valley who is presently involved with a significant environmental program or project in the areas of natural resource preservation, conservation, restoration or development. One
$1,000 scholarship is awarded each year. Eligible students must reside in Chester, Clinton, Cromwell, Deep River, Durham , East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Killingworth, Lyme, Middlefield, Middletown, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Portland, or Westbrook.  Applications  are due by March 2, 2018.


The Mattabeseck Audubon Society is sponsoring an essay contest for high school students in honor of the 200 th anniversary of the birth of Henry David Thoreau - naturalist, essayist, philosopher, and author of Walden. Students residing in the chapter area that includes Middletown, Middlefield, Cromwell, Portland, Haddam, East Haddam, East Hampton, Colchester, and Marlborough are eligible to participate. The theme of the essay is "Is Thoreau Relevant Today?"
 
Entries are due by October 15 and three prizes will be awarded.  Download the  flyer  for more information  or email   Alison Guinness .
Meet Your Greens with Amy Paterson of CLCC October 19!

J oin us for an interesting discussion of the importance of local land trusts and how you can support their vital work. Amy Paterson joined the Connecticut Land Conservation Council (CLCC) in 2010 as its first Executive Director. Working with the CLCC Steering Committee, Amy provides the Connecticut conservation community with technical assistance, training and advocacy to further advance permanent land conservation across the state. Before joining CLCC, Amy served as a Project Manager for The Trust for Public Land, overseeing several complex conservation transactions, and worked for over twenty years as an attorney, concentrating her practice in land preservation and environmental protection. We are happy to return to the scenic  Indian Springs Golf Course  in Middlefield!
 
Thursday, Oct. 19 @ 5:30 pm, FREE

Indian Springs Golf Course
123 Mack Road, Middlefield

Meet Your Greens: Middletown Green Drinks provides networking opportunities for anyone who is interested in making connections and exchanging news about emerging environmental issues to help keep Lower Connecticut River Valley communities green and growing. An official location of Green Drinks International, this informal monthly gathering of people drawn from the community, nonprofit groups and the business world offers time to brainstorm ideas and plant seeds for collaboration. All are welcome and there is no admission fee, unless otherwise noted. For more information, please call 860-347-0340.

grantinfo
Grant Applications Due by Noon on November 9

The Rockfall Foundation's 2017-2018 Competitive Grant program invites proposals from 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, towns, and schools to support environmental education, conservation and planning projects that will positively impact the Lower Connecticut River Valley. 
 
What We Fund
Programs, projects, internships, or capacity building initiatives within one or more of the Foundation's priority areas are eligible for funding. Annual grants support both ongoing programs and start-up initiatives. The guidelines are purposely broad to encourage a wide range of applicants and innovative proposals.  Grants generally range from $500 to $15,000. Multiple grants are awarded, however, only one grant in excess of $10,000 can be funded in a given year. For grant requests exceeding $5,000, the Grants Committee will schedule applicant interviews to augment the information provided in the application and may request interviews for other applicants as needed.

The deadline for receipt of completed applications is noon on Thursday, November 9, 2017, and awards will be announced early in 2018. Detailed guidelines and a fillable application form are available here.
Contact Us:
Email |  860.347.0340